That’s the Spirit of Cocktails! (1)

“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the PROHIBITION that makes anything precious.” A quote from the famous American writer, Mark Twain, which refers to the 13-year prohibition.

Fast backward to the 1920s, the banning of alcohol hit America. The alcohol-lovers had to hunt out an underground drinking den, known as a speakeasy. The quality of the liquor was not up to the expectation since the liquor was not made in a professional distillery. As a result, a new wave of cocktails full of bold flavors emerged, in hopes of taking the edge off the poor quality spirits.

When a “shaken, not stirred” Martini is the most quoted line from the famous James Bond series, we thus realize how cocktails become a global cultural phenomenon. Now only do we get a sip on the alcoholic beverage, but we are capable of being transported through history. Let’s begin our cultural journey via the six essential base spirits of the cocktails, shall we? 

(1) Gin (氈酒)

Origin: Netherlands

Ingredient: Juniper (杜松子)

Step by step: Sugar Solution (糖化) — Fermentation (發烤) — Distillation (蒸餾)

It was distilled from juniper berries, known for its medical use in the 17th century. The Dutch physician Dr. Franciscus Sylvius created ‘genever’, a juniper-based spirit, which the merchants and sailors played a crucial role in the global spread and popularity of gin. As the government imposed heavy duties on imported spirits, it provided the incentives for the British to produce it.

Drink	Ingredients	Method	Garnish	Glassware
Dry Martini	2 1/2 oz Gin Dash of Dry Vermouth (Change 1/oz Sweet Vermouth)	Stir & Strain	Green Olive	Martini
White Lady	1 1/2 oz Gin 1/2 oz Triple Sec 1/2 oz Lemon Juice 1/2 Sugar Syrup	Shake	Lemon Peel	Martini
Gin Tonic	1 1/2 oz Gin 4 oz Tonic Water	Buile	Lime	Highball

IMG: https://theoxfordmagazine.com/recipes/the-sky-wave-dry-martini-recipe/